March Madness starts now.
Florida A&M men’s basketball enters the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the 12-team single-elimination bracket.
It’s FAMU’s highest playoff seed since joining the SWAC in the 2021-2022 athletic year.
“In March, anybody can win because it’s just one game,” FAMU graduate student and guard Jordan Chatman said. “But we got good, high spirits about it.”
The Rattlers (14-15) are rolling into the postseason on a four-game winning streak. In the regular season finale, the SWAC regular season champions and No. 1 seed Bethune-Cookman were snake-bitten by the Rattlers in an 81-77 thriller in Tallahassee on March 5.
It was FAMU’s first time beating the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats since March 2022.
“Guys have to understand what they do well and keep that momentum going,” first-year FAMU head coach Charlie Ward previewed the SWAC Tournament.
“I think we found our groove when it comes to how we want to play. And then guys have to step up and make plays on both ends on the floor.”
Finishing in the SWAC’s top six, the Rattlers have been automatically advanced to the quarterfinals.
Florida A&M Rattlers forward Tyler Shirley is hyped after a play during a game in the 2025-2026 basketball season at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
The SWAC Tournament starts on Monday, March 9, at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, near Atlanta. But the Rattlers won’t compete until Wednesday, March 11, after earning the double-round bye.
FAMU will face the winner of No. 9 Grambling State/No. 12 Mississippi Valley State versus Jackson State, which will be settled on Tuesday, March 10, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Whoever comes out will be scheduled to play the Rattlers on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
If FAMU advances, it will play in the semifinals on Friday, March 13, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, for a shot at clinching a spot in the SWAC Tournament Championship game on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m.
As FAMU prepares for the unknown, Ward says rest, adding wrinkles to game plans, and players staying on top of their schoolwork will be the focus until it’s time to play on Wednesday.
“We know we’ll be playing someone that we’ve already played this season. And we can game prep accordingly,” said Ward, a finalist for the Joe B. Hall and Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year honors.
“Guys have to stay locked in because it’s one game and done at this point.”
As for FAMU women’s basketball, it’s an eight-seed in the tournament with a first-round bye. The Lady Rattlers will begin action on Tuesday against the winner of Monday’s first-round game between No. 10 Texas Southern and No. 11 Bethune-Cookman.
All rounds leading up to the SWAC Championship will be on ESPN+. Saturday’s title games will be on ESPNU.
Florida A&M Rattlers guard Jaquan Sanders drains a three pointer as teammates celebrate in a 66-58 NCAA Southwestern Athletic Conference win versus the Alcorn State Braves at the Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center in Tallahassee, Florida, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026.
If FAMU men’s basketball wins the SWAC title, it would be its first one in the brief history of being part of the league. It would lead to the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007, when it won its most recent conference crown as part of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU basketball’s Charlie Ward in SWAC Tournament: How Rattlers can win
Read the full article here